Working together to make the world a better place to live! A fine WordPress.com site

Main menu

Daily Archives: January 16, 2019

Post navigation

politico.com
The full text of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 16, 2018, letter to President Donald Trump asking him to reschedule his upcoming State of the Union address or to deliver it in writing:

Dear Mr. President:

On January 3rd, it was my privilege as Speaker to invite you to deliver the State of the Union address on January 29th. The Constitution calls for the President to “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” During the 19th Century and up until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, these annual State of the Union messages were delivered to Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown.

In September 2018, Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special Security Events (NSSEs), recognizing the need for “the full resources of the Federal Government to be brought to bear” to ensure the security of these events. The extraordinary demands presented by NSSEs require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare for the safety of all participants.

The U.S. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating, planning, exercising, and implementing security for National Special Security Events by Public Law 106-544, December 19, 2000. However, both the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now — with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs.

Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th.

Florida is facing one of the countries biggest crisis as their water quality continues to grow worse and worse. And finally, after eight years of hopelessly waiting, the new governor plans to take the state’s water quality seriously and put some real money towards the problem.

Ron Desantis announced the move while the state of Florida is still seeing the effects of one of their worst red tide blooms on record. The move is a multifaceted executive order on water policy vastly different from the new governors predecessor. On top of that, Desantis also fired the entire board of the South Florida Water Management after they have failed to protect the states water.

The plan includes to spend $2.5 billion to restore the Everglades and protect its water, a blue-green algae task force, creating a chief science officer position, phasing out septic tanks, putting teeth in environmental crime enforcement and creating an office of resilience and coastal protection to fund and coordinate response to rising sea levels.

While Desantis is known for being a very conservative Republican, the positive conservation steps forward are a stark difference from the previous administration whom banned state employees from using the words climate change or global warming in official communication.

DeSantis called his executive order the “most comprehensive, boldest actions that we have seen in Florida in a long time. … We can solve a lot of these problems, but it has got to begin now.”

Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director Frank Jackalone said DeSantis in his first week “has done more to address Florida’s water quality crisis than (former) Gov. Rick Scott did in eight years.”

But Jackalone said concerns remain over a “poorly designed” Everglades-area reservoir and the lack of a direct mention of climate change in DeSantis’ order. Also, he said more details are needed about the order’s stated opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling and opposition to the controversial drilling process known as fracking.

DeSantis, who campaigned as a critic of the Big Sugar farmers, said he is working with the White House and U.S. Army Corps to end the massive water releases from Lake Okeechobee. Residents living along the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries have blamed the discharges of polluted water from the lake for toxic algae outbreaks which has caused some of the biggest algae blooms to waterways and coastal waters.

While Desantis failed to mention anything about climate change, he did say the state needs to be “ahead of the curve” on increased flooding and rising waters, which will be a job of the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection.

To clean the oceans of all the plastic waste, humans will need to get ingenuitive in their attempt to clean up the ocean and much more important, in how to prevent it.

While finding an alternative to plastic that is practical to replicate on such a large scale has been a challenge, many people across the world are doing what they can to try and clean up the plastic that is in the sea.

Now, Irish fishing trawlers will be used to remove plastic waste from the oceans by the end of 2019, according to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed.

Creed called for all trawlers to get involved in the Clean Oceans Initiative by the end of this year.

“A coordinated action is required,” he said, “to address the serious issue of pollution of the Oceans with plastics.”

Fishing ports, harbours and piers all need to get involved, said Creed, and added that he hoped the industry would build on the work it had been doing voluntarily to date.

With an estimated 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic already estimated to be in the ocean today, that number will only grow at a rapid pace in the future. By 2050, plastic pollution is estimated to outweigh all fish in the ocean.

Plastic also harms the marine life and the very fish stocks that fisherman make a living in, are being impacted severely.

The plan for Irish fisherman is to actively remove garbage, plastic and man-made debris everyday, “as they go about their activity at sea”, according to Creed.

A Department of Agriculture statement said that those working in the fishing industry shared concerns about the plastics issue.

“Our fishing vessels are towing nets through the waters around our coast on a daily basis and often find debris, including waste plastics, when the nets are hauled,” said the statement.

With the hope that fisherman will be bringing home a lot of garbage after each trip out at sea, the Minister is making funding available under Ireland’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), to provide storage facilities on board vessels.

The funding will also be used for “on-shore infrastructure for environmentally friendly disposal of all plastics, waste, ghost fishing gear, etc. recovered at sea.”

The Seafood Development Agency will be tasked with putting together a team of stakeholders which will include fishermen, fish farmers, net makers, harbor authorities, fish processors, community groups, Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), academics and NGOs to determine the best methods of prevention and removal.

This would also include a wider outreach to coastal communities, asking people to report back at the end of the year with more proposals for solutions for the removal and prevention of plastics in the future.

January 14, 2019 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning pet owners not to feed one specific lot of A+ Answers Straight Beef Formula for Dogs after the Nebraska Department of Agriculture discovered Salmonella in the food.

Which Products?

The following product is affected:

A+ Answers Straight Beef Formula for Dogs

Lot # 2018 20/08 20

Why FDA Issuing This Warning

The FDA is issuing this warning because the affected product represents a serious threat to human and animal health and is adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Lystn LLC (doing business as Answers Pet Food) recalled the affected product from distribution and retail locations in the state of Nebraska on December 20, 2018, but has not yet recalled the product nationwide.

The FDA is still working with Lystn to gather comprehensive distribution information and is issuing this warning to alert consumers about this public health risk.

About Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause illness and death in humans and animals, especially those who are very young, very old, or have weak immune systems.

People infected with Salmonella can develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Most people recover without treatment, but in some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that they need to be hospitalized.

In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to other body sites unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

Consult your health care provider if you have symptoms of Salmonella infection.

Pets do not always display symptoms when infected with Salmonella, but signs can include vomiting, diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever, loss of appetite and/or decreased activity level.

If your pet has these symptoms, consult a veterinarian promptly.

Why FDA Concerned About

Salmonella in Pet Food

Pet foods contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella are of particular public health importance because they can affect both human and animal health.

Pets can get sick from Salmonella, and may also be carriers of the bacteria and pass it onto their human companions without appearing to be ill.

Once Salmonella gets established in the pet’s gastrointestinal tract, the animal can shed the bacteria when it has a bowel movement, and the contamination will continue to spread.

Because animals can shed the bacteria when they have bowel movements, it’s particularly important to clean up the animal’s feces in yards or parks where people or other animals may become exposed, in addition to cleaning items in the home.

Federal law requires all pet food to be free of pathogens, including Salmonella.

Pet food manufacturers must effectively manage sourcing of ingredients, processing and packing to control pathogens.

Without an effective control, such as cooking, raw pet food is more likely than other types of pet food to contain pathogens such as Salmonella.

Pet owners who choose to feed raw pet food should be aware of the risks associated with these products.
Company Response to FDA Warning

Answers Pet Food wants readers to know that the FDA’s post is not a product recall.

What to Do?

Pet owners who have this lot of A+ Answers Straight Beef Formula for Dogs should discard it in a secure container where other animals, including wildlife, cannot access it.

Consumers who have had this product in their homes should clean refrigerators/freezers where the food was stored and clean and disinfect all bowls, utensils, food prep surfaces, pet bedding, toys, floors, and any other surfaces that the food or pet may have had contact with.

Clean up the pet’s feces in yards or parks where people or other animals may become exposed.

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

No amount of words stitched together could exactly paint the pain of losing someone. Knowing that you wouldn’t be able to see and be with the person who held a special place in your life, sure is hard to bear. Thus, it is not surprising to see outburst of emotions and hear sentimental anecdotes during a funeral. After all, it is not easy to bid farewell to a person who played a big role in your life.

Though it is normal to witness people mourning the death of their loved ones, seeing animals grieving over the demise of their human is a different story. Over the years, the ability of animals to feel emotion such as joy, sadness, grief, excitement and other feelings similar with humans has been questioned.

However, there are new researches showing that animals are equally capable of feeling emotions just like people. The only difference is that humans can process why they are feeling certain emotions, while animals cannot.

A touching incident during a funeral in Paraiba, Brazil has taken the incident by storm. The heart-wrenching and heartwarming viral incident is proving to the world that animals, like horses, also know what it means to lose a loved one.

Wagner Wagner Lima and his trusted horse, Sereno enjoy spending time with each other. Sadly, the time they cherished so much was cut short due to Lima’s untimely demise. Due to injuries he attained from an unfortunate traffic accident while he was on his way home, Lima succumbed to death. Being a man of character, his sudden death left his family, friends, and his horse devastated.

To send Lima on his final resting place, a number of his family members, friends, and loved ones gathered together for a funeral procession. Sereno, his horse, also took part in the funeral procession because Wando, his brother, knew how much the two mean to each other.

Although Lima treated his horse as his friend, it was only during the funeral that people realized that Sereno loved and cared for Lima so much as well. While the funeral vehicle carrying Lima’s casket reached the gathering, Sereno seemed to know that it really is goodbye for them.

“[Sereno] began to walk around the coffin, smelling the coffin. Then he neighed,” Kyioshi Abreu, one of the funeral attendees, shared in an interview. “It was a very strong emotion. Everyone who was there was moved. I cried myself when I saw that scene.”

The grieving horse then stopped from his tracks and rested his head against Lima’s casket- a sight that warmed their hearts.

“This horse was everything to him,” Wando added. “It was as if the horse knew what was happening and wanted to say goodbye. All the way to the cemetery, he would whimper and beat his paws on the ground.”

The grieving horse then joined the procession led by Wando to deliver Lima to his final resting place in the city of Cajazeiras.

Lima may be gone here on Earth, but the vibrant memories he had made will surely be cherished by his horse, Sereno. In addition, according to Wando, he would not let Sereno grieve alone. He would take him to his family in honor of the memories he have for his late brother. And although nothing would ever compare to the bond between Lima and Sereno, it sure reassuring to know that Wando is ready to fill the place of his deceased brother.

Watch the touching farewell below and SHARE Lima and Sereno’s one-of-a-kind story that goes to show how big and beautiful an animal’s heart could be!

"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" - George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting - this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." - George Orwell